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Brent North, From 1986 Penn State Qb to Navy SEAL, Indicted For Impersonating A Federal Agent

Brent North with Fake ATF Badge and Credentials.

Toledo Ohio – We have waited several months to post this guy up, as he was under investigation for Impersonating a Federal Agent. We were asked not to post him up until the investigation was complete, and the charges filed.

Meet Brent North, not only has he claimed he was a Navy SEAL, and a star quarterback at Penn State, but also an ATF agent. He also had all the certificates to prove each one of them, only problem, they were all fake. He also claims the Navy Cross, Silver Star,and the Combat Action Ribbon among others.

Brent was brought to our attention by an ex, whom we will not name out of concern for her safety. He began with his elaborate tale’s of being a SEAL soon after they met, and even sent an email to her from a fake buddy to make himself look good. Here is the email:

So as you can see, he is one awesome guy! Saved all the members of SEAL Team 3, all while being wounded in the process!

Then at the age of 41, he joins the ATF, one busy guy if you ask me! Here is a picture of one of his fake SEAL certificates, we also verified through Don Shipley that this guy has never seen BUD/s.

Fake SEAL Certificate

It wasn’t to long before all of his lies started to make their rounds, and his girlfriend became suspicious and contacted the ATF to ask if he worked for them. Once they found out, they raided his home and confiscated all the fake certifications and uniforms.

They also raided his business, Ronin Security, which he had also built on his fake career.

According to his ex, he had a lot more fake certificates, but she could only acquire pictures of a few before the ATF confiscated the rest.

Below is a certificate promoting him to 2nd LT in the Marine Corp, signed by President Reagan in 1985. Although you will see later in the article that he could not even keep his dates correct, as he claimed to also be on the Penn State Football team in 1986.

Here is one where Cpt. North graduated the Naval Intel School,in April of 1999. Sure took a long time for him to get to Cpt!

This certificate below is from the “Joint Chiefs of Staff” in appreciation for his service, dated 19 May 1986 and addresses him as Cpt. So he is not even smart enough to make all the dates on the certificates line up with each other.

This certificate is where he graduated from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, dated 3 Jan 1983.

And of course another slip up, in the above email he claims SEAL Team Three, but on his fake certificate he has SEAL Team Five, dated 2 August 1987.

He claims to have been awarded the Navy Cross,for his bravery in battle in Mogadishu on 12 July 1993, braving a hail of gunfire to save his entire SEAL Team. Wounded, bleeding and unable to walk, he pulled all of his team to safety. Only thing is, Mogadishu happened in the early 90’s, and he claims to have been promoted to Cpt before then, but the citation below has him as a LT.

He also tried to make his career as a Penn State Quarterback seem real by adding himself as a Quarterback to the roster on fanbase.com. Although he deleted it, Google had a cache…

He also forged the cover of a Sports Illustrated magazine, he took one of the more famous covers, one from August 25, 1997, that had star wide receiver Joe Jurevicious.

Here is the forged one:

And here is the real cover as it appeared in 1997:

We also checked the 1986 Penn State roster, and no Brent North. Although he did add himself on fanbase.com as #9.

So after all the lies, who is Brent North? Well it seems he did serve as a Marine, for four years, and was Discharged in 1989 as a Private. Being discharged after four years as a Private, tells me somebody had some issues!

Here is another picture of Mr. North posing as an ATF agent, trying to impress someone once again.

He also made up fake ATF business cards:

All of Mr. North’s costumes, certificates to include his work computer on which he created all the fake documents, were confiscated by the ATF.

They indicted him on Federal charges on 10 July 2013, one count of Production of false identification documents, and two counts of Impersonating a Federal officer, both of which are felonies.

Thanks for the entertainment. I couldn’t believe that these douchebags can’t get their shit right. Its sad to learn that even among the Veteran community, we still have shitbags within our ranks. I hope this motherfucker dies in prison from old age. Total disgrace!

I got too sick of reading the email his “Buddy” sent his girlfriend but I had to Laugh My Ass Off over the number of times in the first few paragraphs he uses the label of “Real” in describing how he referred to the “Woman of his Dreams”.

If you look at this from a shrinks stand point, look at his letter and you will see he suffers from insecurities,narcissistic issues, and he is projecting. If somebody has to boost themselves up that much, that should be a red flag right there.

I get not naming her in the article, but the email refers to her as “chris” when the guy talked about how brent pulled them to safety. I’m sure that will be easy to figure out whom the email was too, if he has sent that email to more than one person anyway. Great Job on the ousting though. Hope the A$$hat burns

What inspires someone like this to create such a fictitious lie? Of course, as you pointed out, North’s being discharged as a rank of Private is telling and most likely demonstrates some serious problems back in this man’s youth. I agree with Anthony C! All of my bud’s usually write my potential girlfriends telling them what a magnificent specimen of manhood I am right after the first date! !

Um….wow….just wow….He even sucks as being a fake.
“Wadda ya *MEAN* I’m going to have to go to PMITA Prison?!?!? Was that wrong? Should I have not done that? I mean, I gotta plead ignorance on this whole thing….(George Costanza….)

Some things I noticed that you stated. I was commissioned in May 1986 as a 2nd Lt in the Army and was still a captain in 1999. My promotion to major was 1 Jan 2000, so his dates aren’t too far off to disbelieve. I spent a year longer in college because the Graham-Rudman-Hollings Act kept me from entering active duty in 1986 because of troop limits. The Battle of Mogadishu (what is known as Black Hawk Down) was October 1993 although there were other actions in that city that could have taken place around the time he claims. The October ’93 battle was more or less the beginning of the end of US involvement.

Not trying to defend this loser, but showing that some of his dates aren’t totally out of whack. His captain award dated 86 is way too early. Back then it took two years to make 1st Lt and the goal was another two years to captain but normally took 2 1/2 years as a 1st Lt with a normal pin on date of 4 to 4 and a half years time in service.

Yeah, but his Navy Cross citation for Mogadishu also refers to him as “Lieutenant, United States Navy.” So his forgeries are still sloppy. Although I agree on the timing of promotion to Major within the Army. I was a captain for 7 years and 11 months–but I was the junior officer in the zone to captain and major.

I agree that his forgeries are sloppy and mind boggling (why mix Navy and Marine ranks?). I was just trying to point out that being a captain for that long isn’t strange. I actually know a guy who was passed over twice above zone before pinning on to major. He was prior enlisted and was able to stay as a non-promoted captain to be able to retire, but then after 9/11 the promotion rates rose and he got picked up.

It is a common mistake. A lot of Marines are under the impression that you keep your title of Marine and your M.C. rank while being a seal. It wasn’t until I got out and was talking with the Navy recruiter and SEAL coordinator that I found out you can request to go to BUDS while on active duty but once you are released, you will report and fall under all Naval regulations and rank structure. The Navy also told me I would need to retake the ASVAB despite my scores being above what they needed to be. Its not as easy as this clown made it out to be. Sad to see he was actually a Marine and has zero attention to detail. If you’re going to be a sea-bag with lips, at least try to get something right.

The extent of the documentation forgeries is amazing! I wouldn’t begin to know where to even start looking for such paper work. How do they?
Even while the ruse is “working”, it must be a hollow feeling, even as praise is heaped on you, knowing its all just a bad act.
I have only a couple of awards and a few meritorious masts, but I am proud of what I have, at least I earned them.

He’s in the Naval Academy & Penn State at the same time, wow what a man! The player on the cover has a double digit number that starts with 8. Quarter backs normally have single digit numbers or in the teens. What did him in is the ATF Agent – impersonating a law enforcement officer is ILLEGAL, especially a FEDERAL officer. All the military BS, he probably could have gotten away with unless they can prove his business was funded on the fake military records.
He is quite a piece of work – dumb beyond words.

Not only is it obviously a double digit number, but most PSU Football fans know how many times Penn State has appeared on the SI cover, and who it was. Also, that’s a USC player trying to make the tackle. Penn State and USC did not play in 1986, the only year he claimed to be on the team. I’m surprised that he was smart enough to take the Nike logo off of the left shoulder of the jersey, and the right thigh because PSU didn’t wear Nike in 1986! You can see it was a poor Photoshop job though.
If you look at his fanbase site, his birth year is listed as 1976, so he was 10 years old when he was a National Champion QB at Penn State, and 13 when he graduated from the Naval Academy. This guy just gets more impressive by the minute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your father told me that during his pinning ceremony, Oliver North was upset with him because your grandma pinned him instead! Why would I lie about this? I have nothing to gain or lose. I’m not going to have a war with you. You have to live with the fact that your father is a liar, a fraud and a felon, thats enough undeserving punishment. If you had any sense at all, you would take the fellow soldiers advice and KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! You have no clue how your father negatively affected so many people. I can go to dateline with this story and many others that have approached me, but I am honoring your MOM’s wishes!!!

You can now be charged with a felony for “Stolen Valor” (falsely claming military awards and decorations). Myself I earned mine and my highest is the EIB (Expert Infantryman Badge) and I am damn proud of it. This scumbag needs to be sent to Ft. Levenworth after being turned over to some REAL Seals and they have gad their way with him.

Also, I know that the Marines went in first, the Rangers, Delta, 10th Mountain, and the 160th SOAR were in Somalia for Black Hawk Down, but I never heard of SEALS being there. Why would he pick Somalia ?

I was at (S)Lackland in 88…and we had plenty of Marines running about stealing our girlies! That being said, this clown (And others like him…) oughta be conscripted into one elite unit and dropped into Syria, then N Korea, and on to the next trouble spots. With their expertise, we will have world peace in no time…

Marines often attend other military schools, Ft.Sill Artillery, Ft. Bliss Air Defense Artillery, Ft. Mclellan NBC, Ft Knox Tanks etc. The only school that is strictly Marine training is Infantry and Sniper schools. The Marine Corp doesn’t have the budget to keep other school going because our budget comes from a portion of the Navy’s budget so to learn the infantry support skills they usually go to schools of other services

Hmmm, where to begin?
Now, I was a Navy Corpsman for 10 years (Medically retired) and I have never heard of Marines being attached to SEAL teams. (That doesn’t necessarily mean it doesn’t happen) Also, I have never seen ANY document, or even a signature, that puts “USMC” BEFORE the rank. It is always “CAPT” or “2LT” USMC. His “Navy Cross” citation is completely wrong, and it lists him as being in the Navy, not the Marines. Lastly, his Commissioning papers are all screwed up. There is no such thing as “The Marine corps of the United states.” It is “The United States Marine Corps.”

This loser isn’t only a fake, but he’s not even a good fake. He is an insult to anyone who ever wore the Uniform. I hope he goes to Leavenworth for a LOOONG time!

Marines can’t be SEALs, unless they some how get special permission to transfer directly into the Navy, or get out at the end of enlistment with an Honorable Discharge and then join the Navy. For this dork to say he was a SEAL would be like a dork saying he was a SEAL/Marine Force Recon. SCOUT Sniper.

I served 24 years in 2 different branches…guys like this…I have no use for except maybe as a target….I had a guy I worked with who claimed to be a Navy SEAL…in Lebanon…got his birth date and he was only 18 and a SEAL in Lebanon…? Oh and a Navy Cross awardee..well,he’s facing federal weapons charges now…and he’s never served in any U.S. armed force….hmmmm…good things come to those who deserve them! SSG Hilton..USMC/US Army!

I have read the story and ,YES, Mr. North is a piece of crap and a phony. There is, however, a little dicrepancy in the reporting a Lieutenant in the Navy is a Captain in all the other branches so going from a CPT to a LT could be correct. I am not dissing or degrading Stolen Valor what you do is honerable in exposing frauds and I applaud you for this. Please keep up the great work you do!

Just want to take a second to add this ……. I used to work for brent before he got into the security business…… I did noot serve but a number of co-workers who are still close friends are marines……. we began to suspect Brent when they went in on the tenth of November to wish him a happy birthday and he blandly informed them that today was not his birthday…….just sayin you might want to ask for documentation on his Marine Corps service as well

Any “Marine” who doesn’t know the Corps Birthday is definitely a poser. Also, there is nothing that demonstrates that after graduating from the Naval Academy that he then transferred to the Corps. Smells worse than chump bait for sharks.

I also worked with this gentlemen. I have soooo many stories about this lunatic that I could write several paragraphs, but will leave you with this little nugget.

In his office (Wixom, MI) hung a plaque from the mayor of Wixom recognizing Brent for his heroism in apprehending a would-be purse-snatcher at a local grocery store. Of course- the story about the foot pursuit of, and subsequent skirmish with, the scoundrel made Brent out to be the dashing, selfless hero. Everyone, I mean everyone, at this company knew this guy was a con artist except for the ones that hired and continually promoted him and were intoxicated by the taste of his shaft.

Coincidentally, this same office also housed the framed, now famous, SI cover and two beautifully framed Penn State jerseys. This would make a great book, movie, or at the very least, a Dateline story.

as i read this i am not surprised by any of this, but am appalled by the lengths this man went to over the years. I too worked with him several years ago. Coinciding with Dresden’s story from Wixom about foiling a purse snatcher there, he told the same story, only happening on his lunch hour in Toledo. That would be a few years before working in Wixom. He hung his SI pic in his office. When confronted after a co-worker found out his “credentials” didn’t add up, he was asked to “fess up” to the lies and..if he admitted and apologized to his co-workers he could keep his job. He quit the next day.
It’s one thing to pretend to be a college football pro, but when you be-little the bravery and courage of those that have gone to battle and served this country, you have a serious problem. When you have been confronted many times thru the years and not only continue the sham but build on it, you have become beyond pathetic. Thank God this has finally been put to an end.

As a Marine myself, it should’ve been obvious that he was never a SEAL, simple fact Marines can’t be in the SEALs that is strictly a Navy thing such as Marines don’t have medics, we have Navy Corpsman.

I’m pretty sure you have to be separated from Marine Corps service, then sign a contract with the navy for buds. I have a buddy who was Force Recon (before it was renamed MARSOC). He served four years active in the Marine Corps, separated from service in 2007, got his bachelor’s degree, Joined the Navy and is attending OCS this fall, and will then be onto BUDS soon thereafter.

I always have a chuckle when I see dick bags like this, because no matter how advanced your printer is, no matter how good a story teller you are, and no matter how much money you have you can never reproduce the experience that we as combat vets experienced. He can go on and tell his little seal team stories to get that pussy all he wants, I’m willing to be when he lays his head down at night, when he has a moment to himself, and only himself and his thoughts, he knows that he will never be a quarter a man that my brothers and I are.

my dad was real army 1970 till 1971…he stayed an extra month not having to servive in the reserves…i hate with a passion co*k suckers like him…we lost him 2007 and he still was proud of what he was…USA ARMY SOLIDER…I HOPE HE GETS EXACTLY WHAT HE DESERVES HE HAS DEFILED EVERY SOLDIER BEFORE HIM…FIRING SQUAD IS A GOOD USE OF AMMO….JUST SAYING

The fact that the girlfriend received that email was a red flag, the email was so long took me forever to read it haha , another red flag was that he was so out of shape, the real person whoever he is spent 4 years in the Marines and was only a private WOW my 19 year old son is Lcpl in the Marine Corp and has only been in for a year he must have something wrong with him ?? Low self esteem hope he gets what he deserves !

I spent nearly 7 years in the Army, while 6 of them as an Airborne Infantryman with the 4-325AIR, 82nd Airborne Division. I got out in 97 and have been a Police Officer since. I find this offensive and a disgrace that this man would do this. Living his life through those who have given theirs as the ultimate sacrifice.

Ronnie is right, the Marines are under the Dept of the Navy. We are Marines not Navy personnel. Marines get their funding from the portion of the Navy’s budget, there has never been nor will there ever be a Marine/ Navy SEAL. Marines are still a separate branch that stems from the Navy. Marines are not Soldiers, though we have Infantry; we are not Airmen, though we have our own Air Force, and we are not Sailors, though we have Naval tradition. I respect every man and women that have ever served in any service to this country. This is fact the only way a Marine can become a Navy SEAL is to get out of the Marines and then enlist in the Navy thus surrendering his Eagle Globe and Anchor, and giving up their title as a Marine. In the Marine Corps you can only get called a Marine when you actually graduate Boot Camp and have served honorably, then only then you can be called a Marine just going to Boot Camp and washing out does not cut it.

Oh reading all these fabulous comments makes my day/life. I was suckered in to “loving” this guy,…..if you knew him he was charming, likable, well spoken and seemed to be well off….(house, NICE car, good kids) He is a pathological liar and an extreme sociopath. I thank God I caught him redhanded with his lies and you know what he told me, that I was just like his ex wife accusing him of things he didn’t do. Needless to say he did them all,…I pray for his boy and girl….good kids that I was NEVER allowed to meet…..feel very bad for them, his son is now in the Army wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps….eck, scary thought.
I thank the woman that turned him in….God Bless you…. may he get exactly WHAT he deserves!

Don’t EVER and I mean EVER talk about my family you piece of shit. I am SPC Caleb Tyler North and youre right I did join the army but how the fuck you know why I joined is beyond me because only me and my wife know why I joined. What my father did was wrong but you’ve lost youre fucking mind if you think I want your fucking pitty. I am proud to serve my country but you can quote me on this if you ever and I mean EVER bring me and my sister up again you wont have to deal with him, you pathetic worthless piece of shit, you can deal with me. I joined the army to follow in the footsteps of my 28 year veteran mother and to prove to myself I can be a better person. If you have a problem with my dad that’s between you and him but again if you ever bring my little sister up again. I can promise you this I will defend mine and her honor.

P.S.
It’s all public knowledge and I will say anything I damn well want to say. Rolling eyes, oh wait, is this him impersonating his son. LMAO, he’s so good at impersonating and all. Oh I’m sure every one forgave him…please tell me he did jail time or is gonna, please please pretty please.

Its not all public knowledge. And I guarantee you want “say what you want to say”. Youre a fucking coward if you wont show who you really are. I can guarantee that I am Caleb but don’t believe me it just proves what an ignorant piece of shit you are. We never met you because you were a fucking physcopath that harassed my family. If youre really so tough, show your name so everyone can really see the liar that submitted this.

My name doesn’t matter, and that surely doesn’t make me a coward. What makes certain people cowards are trying to push the truth under the carpet and turning it on someone else when he was confronted…..because THAT is the only life he knows. Believe what you must, I know the truth and GOD knows exactly what he did. He will never get the full punishment he deserves for deceiving so many people because he’s been like this all his life. Harassing a family means contacting/emailing them, and THAT boy, was never done.
Who has/had the protection order against them for stalking>???? Exactly, not me…..
Continue to believe his lies, of course he’s your Poppa….but to the people on this site, especially the TRUE military persons he will always be a disgrace to his country.
Now stop badgering people who have EVERY right to comment on this story as this story is public knowledge, duh!

SPC. North, I am not going to say how I know you, nor how I know which unit you are currently in as an 88M. I will say this, you need to get off of this site defending him. In one instance you say he was wrong then you turn back to defending him. As a Soldier myself, who is aware of exactly who you are and your Chain of Command, it would behoove you to stop all comms on this site immediately, up to and including any email traffic with site administrators.

Not sure you actually want that, remember Soldiers are being punished everyday for stuff such as this on Facebook and other sites under Article 134: all disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces, all conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces, and crimes and offenses not capital, of which persons subject to this chapter may be guilty, shall be taken cognizance of by a general, special or summary court-martial, according to the nature and degree of the offense, and shall be punished at the discretion of that court.

Like I said you can call them. If you want to try and punish me for commenting on a public webpage saying nothing bad about the military or breaking opsec. So if youd like we can handle this in front of my commander and 1st SGT.

@Caleb. I thought that Annonomous was implying you and your sister were really good kids.
I think that “Jake” may have meant that your conversation with annonomous seems to have vague threats and you may want to stop that. This whole thing may suck a bit but you should strongly consider not posting any more comments and continue being the good soldier you are.

Wow, I was stationed at Albany when he was there. I was there from 87-91. We would have been in the same company. I knew a few MP’s and brig guards, but I don’t recognize him. Probably would need some pics from back then. Sure I must have passed through his gate a time or two. It’s a small installation. The guards were always getting into trouble but the only MP I remember getting into trouble flipped his squad car on Perimeter Rd while on patroll. Don’t think he got kicked out, and I kinda knew him but don’t remember his name. Gaa – now I’ll never be able to sleep until I find out. If I knew what he was charged with it might help.

This guy’s level of douchebaggery has actually impressed me. A Marine LT AND PSU QB at the same time? A Naval Academy grad? SEAL Team 3 or was it 5? This guy is a disgrace to every man and woman in uniform. I don’t understand how these DBs take the considerable amount of time it takes to research and produce fakes, and then fail to notice the inconsistencies in the dates and units that are hanging on the wall in from of them. Probably because they are failures. I applaud Guardian of Valor and all of my fellow respondents; especially for the professionalism and the calm way that you present these turds. I just read about the American Idol guy, Parham, and Medina and my fucking blood is boiling. Keep up the good work, and email me if you need any help outing any DBs in the Seattle-Tacoma area. I would be honored to be an honorary DB-outer.

believe it or not people this guy used to work for this guy right before the indictment) at a place called *****le security… he (Brent Both)appeared out of nowhere and became the boss over everyone working security.All the sudden he has jurisdiction over two buildings, practically pools the corporate figures strings and he get special privileges jobs I know because I used to work for this company he treated people with favoritism and if you didn’t agree with something that he suggested it was a mark against you was very one sided and
yes very narcissistic I was fired by that man and he practically destroyed my reputation over here say is quite funny that he was a fraud just like the hearsay was brought to people that were spreading the rumors what a shame.

Caleb: I am sorry for you for having Brent as your father. He did play football in high school. He did join the Marines in September 1985. He was military police. He stole weapon (worth over $50,000) which was found under his bed, copies of keys to officer’s homes were also found. I heard (hear say) he received dishonorable discharge.
Brent’s father went to Chillocothe correctional institute for 15 years for two attempted murder charges in 1986. The crazy bastard tried to kill his second X-wife. He put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger (gun jammed). Then a few months later he chased her through the woods with a knife taped to the end of a stick (she ran and he broke his leg). Ask him why he walks with a limp. He too was a compulsive thief, liar, and attempted murderer.

Ask Brent about the blue sapphire ring that he stole from his step-mother and gave to his high school sweetheart And ask him about the gold jewelry he stole from neighbors and was found under his bed.

Yes, I feel sorry for you having Brent for a father and Tom for a grandfather. Good luck, you need it!

He’s the second marine to have been a seal Ha Ha. I met an imposter who ran a Military Surplus store in Moriarty New Mexico who claimed he was a Marine Captain and was also a SEAL during Vietnam. He had a marine hat with Army Style Capt bars and a trident. His name Michael Anderson he was arrested in 2000 trying to get on base with a BS marine uniform.

I thought you stated last week, or (with this Delusional idiot’s) issue that a Co. and/or Man was arrested or Website taken down for selling “Fake” Military Certificates? Is that true?
Thanks.
Mike
PS. I’ll give you my main email.

He has an active facebook page where some woman is thanking him for his service, and some comments that seem to glorify him. There are pictures of him as a young man in uniform, looks like from before he was discharged from the USMC. I feel so bad for his son who was posting above, he really doesn’t deserve to get in any trouble for the turd fest his dad caused, and it would be pretty tough to see your dad be fully spread out on the examining room table like this with an ex wife or girlfriend pointing stuff out. That said, all the stuff being said about him is really concerning and if he is still out there with a false persona, manipulating people, it’s not right. So I encourage the community here to take a look at his page. There is also a picture of him at an event doing security with what is likely a security badge on a belt holder. https://www.facebook.com/brent.north?fref=ts

I worked with this guy in the uniform industry (industrial uniform-not military). Does anyone know if he ever served any time for any of this? Just curious, as if he didn’t, what message does that send to other impersonators out there??